Multiple desk unit



Jan. 2, 1968 F. CHASSEVENT 3,361,508

MULTIPLE DESK UNIT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 8, 1966 FIG. 1

INVENTOR DOROTHY F. CHASSEVENT ATTORNEYS 1968 D. F. CI-I-IASSEVENT3,361,503

MULTIPLE DESK UNIT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 8, 1966 INVENTOR 'DORQTHYF. CHASSEVENT BY 926. 2 c2 D y W ATTORNEYS 1968 D. F. CHASSEVENT3,361,503

MULTIPLE DESK UNIT F'l d A 8, 1966 1 e 2; 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 62 F G. 4 5|63 INVENTOR DOROTHY E CHASSEVENT BY ozizso w D y/ow ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent Ofiice 3,361,508 Patented Jan. 2, 1968 3,361,508 MULTIPLEDESK UNIT Dorothy F. Chassevent, Rte. 1, Box 1560, Herbert St., PortOrange, Fla. 32019 Filed Aug. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 570,789 12 Claims. (Cl.312-239) This invention relates to desks. In particular it relates to adesk which is designed to conserve ofiice space while maintaining orincreasing operating efliciency.

The normal individual desk, which is designed for a single occupant, hasa relatively large surface area and occupies much floor space.

In many situations, however, it is more impr rtant to conserve floorspace than to provide a large surface area. For example, it may benecessary to place a number of persons, for example four persons,together in a single room. Four individual desks may fill a large roomand may not even fit in a small room.

Factors other than space conservation must also be considered. Quiteoften the duties of the occupants are such that they must confer witheach other. Also, all occupants may have to share common electricaloffice equipment such as an intercom, telephone, dictaphone, etc., andcommon oflice supplies such as a dictionary, staple machine, etc. Also,in addition to the common equipment and supplies, each occupant mayrequire individual equipment such as a typewriter.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a single compactmultiple desk unit to be used by one or more preferably four persons,and so designed as to not only conserve space but also to allowplacement of all necessary individual and common oflice equipment andsupplies in such a manner as to allow maximum operating efliciency andat the same time provide a neat overall appearance.

Briefiy, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, there isprovided a generally circular desk having positions around its peripheryto accommodate from one to four occupants. At each position there isprovided a typewriter well, a sufficiently large surface area,sufficient storage space, and a large amount of leg room. The desk alsoincludes a storage shelf for common ofiice supplies convenientlyaccessible to all occupants of the desk. Another main feature of thedesk is that individual electrical apparatus such as typewriters, andcommon electrical equipment such as intercommunication systems,dictaphones, and telephones may be made easily accessible to alloccupants, while all electrical wiring associated therewith is almostcompletely concealed for safety and for a neat appearance.

The concept of providing a square or circular desk to accommodate aplurality of persons has been known heretofore. Some simple arrangementssimply partition a round table into four compartments to provide fourseparate study areas. In other arrangements highly complex equipment isprovided in the center of a generally annular desk at which a number ofoperators, such as telephone operators, refer to the same informationstorage unit located in the center of the annular desk. However, theseprevious developments are unsuitable for accomplishing the purpose ofthe present invention. Partitioned study areas do not provide a meansfor installing equipment while at the same time providing a sufficientsurface area on the desk. On the other hand, the fairly complex annulardesks having central information storage units are not suitable forgeneral use, as for a number of secretaries.

Specifically, according to the present invention there is provided adesk having a generally circular top surface and a generally circularbase plate parallel to the top surface. The top surface and base plateare separated by a unique network of vertical partitions. The partitionsare so arranged and interrelated as to provide at each operatingposition a typewriter Well and additional storage areas to the sides ofthe typewriter well. These storage areas may serve either as drawers orbins.

The top surface has cutouts around its periphery in the area of thetypewriter wells, and provides a large working area to the right andleft of the typewriter well above the said storage areas. The network ofpartitions is arranged in a highly etficient manner to provide a minimumnumber of partitions to provide large storage areas and typewriterwells. For example, assuming that four typewriter wells are to be spacedequiangularly about a circular table the partitions serving as the sidesof one typewriter well extend inwardly from that well and continueacross the base plate to serve as sides of the well across the desk andas sides of the storage areas at the positions corresponding to theother two Wells.

The base plate is supported on a retainer plate which is in turnsupported on a square hollow column. Leg partitions extend outwardlyfrom this square hollow column and also serve to support the base plate.Extending upwardly from the center of the top surface is a hollowconduit on which are mounted a first rotary shelf and a second fixedshelf. The fixed shelf is located at the top of the conduit and isintended to hold common electrical equipment such as an intercom or adictaphone.

An important feature of this invention is that means are providedthroughout to allow concealed wiring to extend from all positions whereelectrical apparatus is to be placed to a source of electrical power.Thus, to this end the central hollow support column is to be placed overa main electrical outlet. Main phone outlets and intercom outlets arealso brought to the central hollow support column. From this centralsupport column electrical wiring is conducted through the network ofpartitions directly to the typewriter well, never passing over the topsurface of the desk. Secondly, wiring is passed through the network ofpartitions to an aperture located near the center of the top surface fora phone which will serve all occupants. Finally, electrical wiring isconducted through the network of partitions, and then through thevertical conduit to the top shelf for the common electrical equipmentmounted on the top shelf.

The rotary shelf between the top surface and the electrical apparatusshelf is intended for common one to an ofiice 'office equipment such as,a stapler, dictionary, etc.

Thus, it can be seen that the desk according to the present inventionprovides a highly efiicient and advantageous general purpose type deskwhich provides many advantages not possible with the circular desksknown heretofore. Like the previous circular desk arrangements, thewalls in the room are left free for filing cabinets, chairs or othernecessary oifice equipment. However, unlike previous circular type desksthe present invention provides an overall conservation of space while atthe same time providing a large surface area on the desk on the rightand left and in front of the typewriter well, a neat appearance andstrategic, convenient placement of all necessary office equipment.Because of the large topsurface desk area the desk may be used withequal efficiency by either a right-handed or left-handed typist. Inaddition, the large area provides efliciency of operation where workmust be passed from one person to another.

Not only are spaces provided for electrical apparatus, but they areprovided in such a manner that all electrical wiring is concealed. Ateach working position the occupant may have an electric typewriter, thewiring for which is routed through the network of partitions to theplaced at the center top surface so that the wiring to the telephone isalso concealed. In addition, common equipment such as an intercom ordictaphone are provided at a centrally convenient position and thewiring therefrom to the central power outlet is also concealed. Inaddition the base allows much leg room for added comfort or toaccommodate a wastepaper basket at each position.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a highly-eflicientdesk intended to serve a number of persons, which has many advantagesnot possible with circular desks known heretofore.

It is another object of this invention to provide a highly efiicientcircular desk serving a number of persons wherein all necessaryelectrical apparatus may be conveniently and strategically located andwherein the electrical wiring therefrom is concealed for neatness andfor safety.

It is the further object of this invention to provide a highly efiicientcircular general purpose type desk pro viding a large surface area,suificient storage area, a typewriter Well, and a large leg room area ateach operating position.

Other objects of this invention will become more apparent from thedetailed description to follow together with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating the desk according to thepresent invention.

FIGURE 2 is an exploded view illustrating the components of the deskshown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective plan view of the partition network takengenerally along 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 44 of FIGURE 1and showing the electrical wiring through the desk unit from the centralsupport column to the'electrical equipment.

FIGURE 5. is a modification of the present invention designed to beplaced against a wall and to accommodate two occupants.

FIGURE 6 is another modification of the invention showing a 90 segmentintended to be placed in a corner and to serve one occupant.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has four operatingpositions including four typewriter wells spaced equiangularly about theperimeter of the desk.

7 FIGURE 3. The four operating positions are shown by the letters A, B,C, and D. Referring specifically to posi tion A there is shown atypewriter well 24a formed by a right well partition 17, a left wellpartition 18 and a trans verse partition 21. The position A also hasassociated therewith a right outer partition 19, a left outer partitionI 20, and an inner transverse partition 22. These partitions form thefollowingareas associated with the position A; the typewriter well 24a,the drawer space 25a, a first bin 26a, a second bin 27a, and an innerrectangular space 32a. The first transverse partition 21a has anaperture 28a located therein, and the base plate 15 has an aperture 29aformed in the area 3211. The purpose of these apertures will bediscussed in more detail below.

Each of the positions B, C, and D also have associated therewith thesame areas and similar areas are designated by like numerals followedwith the subscripts b, c, and d respectively.

In a particularly advantageous manner it can be seen that the partitionsof each position, for example position A, are extended to formpartitions for the areas of the other positions. For example, the rightand left well partitions 17 and 18 extend completely across the desk toform the sides of the well 24c and the inner transverse partitions ofpositions B and D. Similarly, the right and left outer partitions 19 and20 extend across to form the Outer right and left partitions of positionC and the first transverse partitions of positions B and D. The centralarea bracketed by the inner transverse partitions comprises a centralaperture 30 aligned with the central aperture 13 and additionalapertures 31 which cooperate with the additional aperture 14.

Referring now to FIGURE 2 there is shown a retainer plate 40 positionedbelow the base plate 15. This retainer plate is generally square, havingstraight sides 43 and cut off corners 44. The central portion thereof isopen as shown at 41 and has additional peripheral apertures 42 whichcooperate with apertures 29a in the base plate in a manner to bedescribed below.

Below the retainer plate 40 there is shown the base'50 having a centralsquare hollow column 51 having side, cut out portions 52 and opened atthe top as shown in 53 and also open at the bottom. The column also hascorner slots 54 to accommodate leg partitions 55. These leg partitionsextend outwardly from the column 51 and have a raised upper portion 56and a shoulder 57 leading to a recessed upper edge 65. The bottoms ofleg 55 have a lower edge 58 and a recessed lower edge 59. The retainer,plate 40 is adapted to lie on the recessed upper edge 65 of the upperleg partition edges while the corners 44 rest in the shoulders 57 andthe raised portion 56 rests against the outer edge of the base plate 15.

Below the support column 51 there is shown a cutout base 60 having acentral cutout 61. This base is intended to sit in the recessed portion59 on the leg 55 while the column 51 is received in the central cutout61. A kick plate 62 is suitably positioned in the opening between twoadjacent leg partitions 55 to cover the central support.

area as shown in FIGURE 1. This kick plate has a notched lower edge 63to accommodate electrical wiring in a manner to be discussed in moredetail below.

Above the top surface there is shown an upper column 70 having a lowerthreaded end 71 and an upper threaded end 72. A shelf 73 is locatedmidway along the column 70 and mounted to rotate thereabout at aperture75. A top shelf 74 is mounted in fixed relationship to the upper end ofcolumn 70 and has an aperture 76 located centrally thereof. Anadditional column 77 may be located above the upper shelf 74 either formounting additional ap-y 74 on the column 7!). Threaded flangesupportsthe lower end of column 70 on the base plate 15.

FIGURE 4 illustrates the manner in which the electrical wiring isconducted from the various electrical items to the source of electricalpower or other main outlets. At the bottom of the central support column50 there is provided a main electrical outlet 86, a phone outlet 87 anda pair of intercommunication cutlets 88. A plug unit 89. V

is mounted on the side wall of support column 51 while a second plugunit 90 is mounted on the kick plate 62. Electrical wiring isconductedfrom the main electrical power outlet 86 to the plug unit 89and optionally from the plug unit '89 to the plug unit 90.

A phone 93 is located at the central portion of the' efficiency desk.The wire 94 from the phone is passed through cover plate 80 and throughthe additional aperture 14 through the central rectangular area and fromthere to an additional aperture 31, through thecentral opening 41 in theretainer plate 40, and through the open mg 52 on the side of the supportcolumn 51 to the phone.

outlet 87. To accommodate a typewriter 95 located in the typewriter well24 the cord therefrom is passed through the aperture 28 in the firsttransverse partition 21 and then through the apertures 29 and 42 to theplug unit 90. Finally, it may be necessary to place common electricalapparatus such as a dictaphone 97 or an intercom 100 at a positionconvenient to all occupants of the desk. For this purpose the units areplaced on the upper shelf 74 and the wires therefrom are directedthrough the hollow central column 70. The wires then pass through theopening 30 in base plate 15 and through the central opening 41 in theretainer plate 40. Two wires 99 and 99 are directed from the dictaphone97. The wire passes through the side opening 52 and through notch 63 toa foot plate 98. The wire 99 is simply passed through the opening 52 andconnected to the plug unit 89. Finally, the wires 101 from the intercom100 are passed directly through the hollow support column to intercomoutlet 88. Thus, in a highly efiicient manner all necessary wiring hasbeen provided in a manner which allows the most convenient placement ofthe electrical items and at the same time conceals all electricalwiring.

Optionally, it may be necessary to direct current to the main electricalpower outlet 86 from the ceiling rather than from the floor. This can beprovided by simply extending the optional conduit 77 directly to theceiling and leading the source electrical wiring from the ceilingthrough conduits 77 and 70 through the openings 41 and 53 to the mainoutlet 86.

As discussed above, in the preferred embodiment of the invention thedesk is circular in shape and provides four typewriter wells for fouroperating positions. However, it is also possible to provide the deskunit in a semicircular shape as shown in FIGURE 5. The embodiment ofFIGURE 5 has only two positions A and B and the numerals used in FIGURE5 are similar to those used in FIGURE 1. Similarly, in FIGURE 6 only oneoperating position, position A is shown and like numerals are used todesignate like parts. The semi-circular unit shown in FIGURE 5 would beemployed against a wall while the unit shown in FIGURE 6 would beemployed in a corner position. Many of the advantages of the inventionare retained in the semi-circular and quarter-circular units. Forexample, the features of hidden wiring, large surface and storage areaand much leg room area are still provided in each of thesemodifications.

To provide the unit of FIGURE 5, the unit of FIG- URES 1 and 3 would bedivided along chain line XOY as shown in FIGURE 3. The unit of FIGURE 6would be provided by dividing the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 3along lines XOZ or YOZ in FIGURE 3. The only structural modificationaside from eliminating those portions outside of the specified areawould be that the central aperture 30 and the conduit 70 would be movedinto the included area so that it would not be at the axis of thecircular portion of the perimeter. Also, of course, in a quarter-circleunit it would not be necessary to provide the inner transverse partition22 and the portion of the drawer 25 lying outside of the appropriatechain lines would be eliminated.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown inconsiderable detail above, it should be apparent that many structuralvariations and modifications are possible within the spirit and scope ofthis invention limited only by appended claims wherein:

I claim:

1. A desk comprising: a top having an at least partially circularperiphery and a base plate substantially parallel to the top and havingan at least partially circular edge vertically aligned with the said atleast partially circular periphery of the top, a plurality of verticalpartitions spacing the said top from the base plate, at least one wellformed in an edge of the desk by two side partitions extending inwardlyfrom the edge of the desk and one transverse partition intersecting thetwo side partitions, the portion of the said top over the well being cutout, a

hollow support column having vertical side walls, said desk beingmounted on the vertical side walls of the support column with the axisof the said circular edges passing through the said column, means forproviding an electrical power outlet in the hollow support column, anaperture in the said transverse partition and an opening in the saidbase plate on the side of the transverse partition away from the wellproviding access for wires from the electrical apparatus in the well tothe means for providing electrical power.

2. A desk as claimed in claim 1 wherein said base plate and said tophave vertically aligned apertures formed near the axis of their circularperipheries, a hollow conduit opened at both ends, mounted on the saiddesk in the said central apertures and extending upwardly from saiddesk, said conduit being opened into the said hollow support columnbelow and including a shelf mounted on the conduit above the said top sothat wires from an electrical device on the said shelf can pass throughthe conduit to the said means for providing an electrical power outlet.

3. A desk as claimed in claim 1 including a retainer plate positionedbetween the base plate and the support column, said retainer platehaving a central opening vertically aligned with the hollow portion ofthe support column, and additional apertures vertically aligned with thesaid openings in the base plate on the side of the transverse partitionaway from the said well, at least two partition legs connected to thesupport column and extending radially from said axis, said retainerplate and said base plate resting on the upper edge of the saidpartition legs.

4. A desk as claimed in claim 3 including a vertical kick plateextending between two adjacent partition legs.

5. A desk as claimed in claim 1 wherein said top and said base are inthe shape of a sector of a circle with the well at the circularperipheral edge thereof.

6. A desk as claimed in claim 1 wherein said top and said base are inthe shape of a semi-circle in plan View, with two wells positioned alongthe circular peripheral edge thereof.

7. A desk as claimed in claim 1 wherein the top of the desk on the sideof the wells is a plane solid surface, and including a storage spaceprovided on each side of said well between the top surface and the baseplate.

8. A desk as claimed in claim 1 wherein the top and base are each in theshape of a full circle except for the said out out portions of the topand the wells being provided spaced equiangularly about the circularperipheral edge of the desk.

9. A desk as claimed in claim 8 wherein the said two partitions formingthe sides of each well are horizontally aligned with the partitionsforming the well on the opposite side of the desk, each well havingassociated therewith at least one additional partition parallel to thepartition forming the sides of the well and spaced outwardly awaytherefrom, storage space being provided between each said side of thewell and its corresponding additional partition, and wherein extensionsof the said additional partitions forming the transverse partitions ofthe wells spaced 90 from the wells with which the said additionalpartitions cooperate to form the storage areas.

10. A desk as claimed in claim 9 wherein the continuations of the fourwell side Walls form a central area in the center of the desk, andincluding apertures in the top surface and base plate above and belowthe said central area so that access is provided from an electricalapparatus near the center on the top surface to the inside of the saidhollow support colum.

11. A circular desk comprising: a top surface and a base plate, fourtypewriter wells spaced equi-angularly about said desk formed in acutout portion of the top surface .and on a bottom formed by the baseplate, a conduit extending upwardly from the said top surface, a shelflocated near the top of said conduit, a hollow support column positionedbelow and supporting the base- 7 plate, means for directing electricalwiring concealed from view from the typewriter well to the supportcolumn and means for conducting electrical wiring concealed from viewfrom the shelf to the central support column.

12. A desk as claimed in claim 11, including an aperture near the centerof the top surface, and including means for directing electrical wiringfrom an electrical apparatus positioned near the center of the topsurface to the support column and concealed from View.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,749,228 3/1930 Rand 312-239 8Vincent 312'239 X Honeycutt et a1. 312--239 X Thaxt on 10823 X Lewis312-239 Nall 312239 FOREIGN PATENTS Canada.

JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner.

1. A DESK COMPRISING: A TOP HAVING AN AT LEAST PARTIALLY CIRCULARPERIPHERY AND A BASE PLATE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE TOP AND HAVINGAN AT LEAST PARTIALLY CIRCULAR EDGE VERTICALLY ALIGNED WITH THE SAID ATLEAST PARTIALLY CIRCULAR PERIPHERY OF THE TOP, A PLURALITY OF VERTICALPARTIITONS SPACING THE SAID TOP FROM THE BASE PLATE, AT LEAST ONE WELLFORMED IN AN EDGE OF THE DESK BY TWO SIDE PARTITIONS EXTENDING INWARDLYFROM THE EDGE OF THE DESK AND ONE TRANSVERSE PARTITION INTERSECTING THETWO SIDE PARTITIONS, THE PORTION OF THE SAID TOP OVER THE WELL BEING CUTOUT, A HOLLOW SUPPORT COLUMN HAVING VERTICAL SIDE WALLS, SAID DESK BEINGMOUNTED ON THE VERTICAL SIDE WALLS OF THE SUPPORT COLUMN WITH THE AXISOF THE SAID CIRCULAR EDGES PASSING THROUGH THE SAID COLUMN, MEANS FORPROVIDING AN ELECTRICAL POWER OUTLET IN THE HOLLOW SUPPORT COLUMN, ANAPERTURE IN THE SAID TRANSVERSE PARTITION AND AN OPENING IN THE SAIDBASE PLATE ON THE SIDE OF THE TRANSVERSE PARTITION AWAY FROM THE WELLPROVIDING ACCESS FOR WIRES FROM THE ELECTRICAL APPARATUS IN THE WELL TOTHE MEANS FOR PROVIDING ELECTRICAL POWER.